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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22535101">And They Were Roommates, Oh God They Were Roommates</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohlookanotherwriter/pseuds/ohlookanotherwriter'>ohlookanotherwriter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Dt roommate au, F/F, F/M, Gen, i Don’t know what I’m doin so let’s jus rolll with it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 13:07:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,072</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22535101</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohlookanotherwriter/pseuds/ohlookanotherwriter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>And they were the best of roommates // inspired by my dt roommate au on tumblr</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora &amp; Double Trouble (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra &amp; Double Trouble (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I think you’re thinking too much into this.” Catra placed the last of the boxes down in the living room, staring at the piles stacked up around them, waiting to be unpacked. She looked towards her girlfriend and gave a sheepish smile. She knew that if she could get Adora’s trust back, after everything they’ve been through the past year or so, Double Trouble wouldn’t be an issue at all.</p><p>“I think you’re not thinking enough into this, Catra!” Adora waved her hands in the air dramatically before crossing them tightly against her chest. “Double Trouble betrayed the both of us back to back, and you think we should just settle down and move in with them?”</p><p>Catra stopped what she was doing, her hands rested, falling flat on a box she had been getting ready to slice open and unpack. She took a moment to try and collect her thoughts. She knew Adora wasn’t keen on the idea of moving in with DT but she also knew her girlfriend had trust issues and maybe part of that was Catra’s fault. Maybe the majority of it was Catra’s fault but… she shook the thought out of her head, she wasn’t going to allow her own self doubt to bring down Adora’s already bad mood.</p><p>“We’ve talked this over, it’s too late to do anything about it now, all the papers are already signed, we already have all of our crap moved… we’re already locked in,” Catra sighed “You’re right, they did betray us, but if I was able to find it in myself to forgive them, can’t you too? If you could do it for me…”</p><p>Adora threw herself down onto the couch, the only piece of furniture put together thus far, and buried her face into her hands. Approaching cautiously, Catra took a seat next to her girlfriend, curling up into a ball and nuzzling herself into her side, being sure to take in a whiff of her before tangling her arms around Adora’s waist. A pang of guilt resonated deep within Catra. Of all the cruddy things she’s done to Adora and here they sit, together the way it should have always been, the way it should’ve been if Catra wasn’t so damaged and had the ability to swallow her pride… and Adora is worried about how Double Trouble could possibly betray them? As roommates? Catra pushed the thought down deep within herself, mentally smacking herself in the face. She couldn’t allow herself to tailspin right now.</p><p>“Adora, please, don’t worry about it,” Catra pleaded “If they do anything I’ll persona—“</p><p>A loud crash from outside the front door cut the feline off mid sentence and sent her flying into the air, hair prickling on the back of her neck. A quick sniff towards the door brought the familiar scent of Double Trouble towards her nostrils. She lunged off the couch for the door but not before giving Adora a peck on the cheek.</p><p>Adora watched as her girlfriend walked out the door to investigate the crashing sound. She took a deep breath, held it, and exhaled. Catra was right, there was no reason to be so worried, but still Double Trouble decepted all of them in the past, probably Catra more so than anyone else. In a time when she was all alone, the shapeshifter fooled Catra into thinking they were her friend but sold her out to Adora’s own side for the equivalent of a corn chip… just to be on the winning side of history. The feelings mangled themselves in Adora’s chest, the whole situation, no matter which way she looked at it she just ended up confused and in a tizzy. Tucking her legs up against her chest, Adora let out a sigh and let her face drop into her knees, not planning to remove it from there anytime soon.</p><p>Out in the hallway, Catra was helping Double Trouble gather the items they had dropped all over the floor.</p><p>“Is this everything you brought with you?” She glanced around at the clutter on the floor. A few shirts, a few pants, delicates, a memento here and there but not much else.</p><p>“Hah, well kitty cat when you’re a grifter like me, you keep your personal belongings to a minimum.” Catra scoffed at Double Trouble’s attempt to be edgy and helped gather the remaining items into their singular box. “I do have some furniture coming for my room and some for the living room but other than that, yes, this is most of it.”</p><p>With a flourish, Double Trouble scooped up their belongings and nodded towards the door Catra had previously come out of. “I’m expecting this is the one?”</p><p>Catra pushed the door open, guiding the shapeshifter into their new apartment. Adora rocketed up from her spot on the couch to shoot a glare in Double Trouble’s direction but it was quickly suppressed by one of Catra’s own. She clenched her teeth and tried to give her best smile for their new roommate even knowing full well she probably just looked constipated. Jutting her hand out in front of her as some faux attempt of comradery, Adora grabbed Double Trouble’s hand to shake and pushed out something along the lines of “Welcome, roomie,” but she couldn’t be sure exactly how it came out through her clenched teeth. It must have been received well, however, because DT’s face lit up as they quickly threw their single box of items into their chosen room and came back out to throw their arms around Catra and Adora’s shoulders.</p><p>“This is going to be just fabulous,” Double Trouble exclaimed. “I just know we’re going to get into all sorts of fun shenanigans together.”</p><p>Double Trouble squeezed the couple even closer into their sides. Adora feared she would get crushed by the strength of her new roommate, who the hell knew they were that strong underneath that slender frame. She suppressed the groan that was building up inside her and cautiously endured the affection.</p><p>“I think this calls for a photo!” Double Trouble announced gleefully. They dodged into their room to return with what looked like an old style camera, the kind you had to take the film to go get developed. Before the duo had a chance to protest, Double Trouble had already gotten the camera propped up and timer set. They sprinted back over to where their new roommates stood, positioned themself between the two and threw their arms into the air in excitement. Adora at least put her best foot forward and managed a grimace for the camera, Catra on the other hand made no attempt to seem pleased with the situation and set her signature scowl in place before the flash of the camera blinded them all momentarily.</p><p>“This one’s getting framed!” Double Trouble, still filled with excitement, announced as they collected their camera and held it close to their chest.</p><p>Earlier that same day…</p><p>Double Trouble sat on the floor of the tent that they called home all these years, hugging their knees tightly to their chest, staring intently at the single box full of their possessions. It wasn’t much but it was all they had needed up until this point, in their life of traveling alone, looking out for #1 and #1 only.</p><p>It came as a shock when Catra approached them about going in on an apartment with her and Adora. The shapeshifter knew full well that Adora didn’t trust them as far she could throw them and they were unsure what strings Catra had to pull to get her girlfriend on board with the idea but they were grateful for it. Double Trouble was so… so tired of being alone in the world. It had worked for them thus far but something changed in them when they saw the group of hoity toity princesses work together through everything, being able to rely on each other, and even come together to help Catra out of her dark place. It made them yearn for… that thing… what did they call it again? Friendship? The word made Double Trouble shudder. But why? They couldn’t pin down the exact reason.</p><p>Their gaze came to that singular box again. They pressed their face deep into their knees and took a deep, shaky breath. They tried to hold it in for some sense of relief but the breath rattled out of them quickly and intensely. What was this feeling? Why did their stomach feel like it was doing summersaults all over the place? What was this glitchy, fluttering sensation in their heart? They placed a hand over their heart trying to get it to just calm down for a second but to no avail.</p><p>With breath caught in their throat, the realization of what the feeling was struck them. That’s why it seemed like a distant memory to them, this is how they felt when they left their Noble life behind to become part of the chaos that was the Crimson Waste. It’s just the anxiety that comes with change is all. They took another deep breath, holding it in with more success than they were able to previously, and with an exhale their mind felt a little more free and clear. But only slightly. With trembling legs, Double Trouble stood, grabbing their single box full of possessions and exiting their former abode. Looking back at their tent they pondered if they should pack it up and dispose of the thing.</p><p>No, they thought to themselves, It will be nice to have something to come back to if things go south…</p><p>With one last glance at their tent, the tent that came with them everywhere, on every mission, a smile sprung to their lips. With their box in hand, they took a deep breath and made their way towards their new home, their new home full of those things called “friends.”</p><p>Back at the apartment, one unit over…</p><p>“I can’t believe Adora talked us into this.” Glimmer angrily rifled through the rest of her belongings, trying to figure out where everything’s place should be. Her and Bow had gotten much farther along in their unpacking than Adora and Catra had (when Glimmer wasn’t pacing around the living room, stressing about the situation, with some object or other threatening to shatter in her vice grip) and were winding down to just about the end of it.</p><p>“Hey,” Bow bellowed “At least we were able to get our own place and don’t have to cram in there with the rest of them.”</p><p>Bow, ever the optimist, was trying to make the silver lining shine through for his friend, as he had been trying to for the past several hours. He threw up some sheepish jazz hands at the end of his statement as a shy smile crossed his face. It didn’t last long though, as a loud crashing sound came from the hallway outside their apartment.</p><p>The archer could feel his friend’s blood pressure spike at the sound, but wasn’t fast enough to cut her off from the peephole in the door. A flustered Glimmer huffed and puffed as she took in the scene through the peephole of her new neighbor causing the first of what was sure to be many many loud disturbances.</p><p>“How long are we stuck in this lease?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Housewarming party?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Housewarming party.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em> No </em>.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh no, that time wasn’t a question, just affirmation that I am in fact doing it.” Double Trouble leaned back into the couch and clasped their hands over their crossed legs. Catra sat in the armchair adjacent to them and laughed into her coffee as she listened to her new roommate and her girlfriend arguing. It had been going on like this for quite some time at this point. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I don’t see the issue,” Catra added “What were you thinking DT? Banners, streamers, confetti…” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Absolutely no confetti.” Adora slammed her own mug of coffee down on the counter, her brows furrowed. “We’ve only been in this apartment for a week and I would really like to not lose our security deposit before we’ve even made first months rent.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh that reminds me, Sea Hawk and Mermista said they would come. Still waiting to hear back from Netossa and Spinnerella.” Catra eyed Adora over her mug, waiting for the reaction. Waiting… waiting… waiting… <em> and— </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How long have you been planning this!?” Adora practically screeched, she gripped her mug tightly in between her hands, Catra thought if she were in her She-Ra form right then that the mug would shatter into a million pieces. Double Trouble and Catra did their best to hide their smug grins but Adora’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, most likely trying to decide who to dig into first. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> One unit over…  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><b>CRASH</b>!!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Bow folded his newspaper over and glanced at the wall connecting his apartment to his friends’. He turned his gaze towards his own roommate who was rubbing away at her temples so ferociously he thought she would wear right through her own skin. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sounds like DT and Catra finally got around to telling Adora about the party, huh?” Bow said with a smirk in his own roommate’s direction. Glimmer let her hands fall to her sides, she relaxed her clenched jaw and put on a smile, inhaling deeply. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“As long as the chaos remains in their apartment and doesn’t leak over here, I will remain calm and serene. Calm and serene… calm and serene…” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Bow chuckled at his friend’s recently adopted mantra. He was still in a little bit of hot water for inviting Catra and DT over for drunk karaoke the night before, so he should have expected Glimmer catapulting her phone at his head from the kitchen but there he sat, still stunned, still laughing. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So much for calm and serene, huh?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> At a party supply store… </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I think you hit the nail on the head with the confetti idea.” Double Trouble held a bag of confetti in each hand, one multi-colored and the other gold and silver. They held the two packages up for Catra to see and put in her input. She stuck a clawed finger at the multi-colored bag of confetti, Double Trouble threw it into the cart with their other supplies and placed a hand on the front, guiding it forward while Catra held on to the handlebars. As Double Trouble pulled the cart forward from the, their shopping partner popped her feet up onto the bottom rack. The less walking she had to do, the better. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I don’t think Adora likes me…” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Catra was taken aback by the statement. Admittedly, she hadn’t known Double Trouble for all that long, but she knew them well enough to know that this isn’t something they would typically worry themselves over. The shapeshifter brought the shopping cart to an abrupt stop, sending Catra’s gut  into the handrail of the cart. They stood in front of a section full of party hats, looking at each option intently.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I know she doesn’t trust me, so it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say that she doesn’t like me, right?” Double Trouble reached for a package of party hats, they were red, white, and gold. They held them in their hands for a minute, pondering the item in their grasp. Catra noticed a small quirk at the edge of their lips that may have been a smirk if you looked at it at the right angle but she couldn’t be sure. The party hats went into the cart and they pushed forward to the next isle: streamers. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I- uh- I...“ Catra was at a loss for words, she had never seen this side of Double Trouble before and it was throwing her for a loop. Was it insecurity? “I think she just needs time to come around. Yeah... I mean, it wasn’t all that long ago that we were on opposite sides of the same war.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Catra hopped off of her perch on the shopping cart and went to stand next to Double Trouble where they were staring at a whole section full of different colored streamers. She grabbed a pack of green streamers and turned them around in her hands. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Adora is complicated…” Catra continued, a quiver in her voice but more confident in her words. “She’s been through a lot, a lot of that was at my own hands... Trust me, DT, she’ll come around. You just need to give her time.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well!” After too long of a pause, Double Trouble took the streamers from Catra’s hands, along with a few other colored streamers, and threw them in the cart. “I’m hoping this party will give me a chance to show her I’m not all that bad. I’m fun!” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, is fun what you call it?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Back at the apartment… </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You guys are really doing this to me, aren’t you?” Adora watched as Double Trouble and Catra stood on chairs, hanging decorations on every inch of the apartment. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes!” Catra answered a little bit more excitedly than she wanted to. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And you’re seriously going to throw confetti at every single guest when they walk in?”</p>
<p><br/>“Of course we are!” Double Trouble, balanced on their chair, kept one hand on the streamer they were currently hanging and stuck the other in their pocket. Their hand quickly returned, flinging colorful confetti all over Adora. She groaned and brushed the confetti off of herself but Double Trouble and Catra couldn’t deny the little smile she was trying to hide. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The two wrapped up their decorating and readied the snacks and drinks for their guests. Glimmer and Bow were the first of guests to arrive and as Double Trouble had promised, they each got a handful of confetti thrown in their faces the moment they stepped through the threshold. Unsatisfied, Glimmer sputtered and brushed the bits of plastic off with fervor, muttering something under her breath while Bow picked one out of his hair and chuckled at it. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Nice touch.” He flicked the thing upwards and sent it flying through the air with a soft blow. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The guests slowly started trickling in after Bow and Glimmer’s arrival. Double Trouble and Catra spent nearly twenty minutes in the games aisle of the party store arguing over which games to get but the guests seemed to enjoy their compromise of Pin the Wings On the Kowl, including Adora who, to Double Trouble and Catra’s delight, seemed to be having a better than expected time. Snacks and alcohol were consumed by all the guests as the night went on, all of them growing rowdier and rowdier with each toast. At some point in the night, Adora and Sea Hawk started up a friendly game of karaoke that quickly turned into a screaming match of lyrics amongst all of the party guests.</p>
<p>Maybe it had to do with all the alcohol running through their system, but the night grew older and amongst all the chaos Double Trouble found themselves alone in a crowd. They looked around themselves and could see all the smiling and laughing faces but they weren’t able to connect with them. They saw friends with arms latched, Huntara and Perfuma drunkenly supporting each other, making sure the other didn’t topple over, Catra and Adora were smiling in a tight embrace, everyone was a big happy mob. Except for Double Trouble, who up until that point had been mostly alright, but was now starting to feel like the room was spinning. Their body took control and they broke away from the crowd undetected. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>They stood in the kitchen, clutching their glass of champagne tightly to their chest as they leaned on the counter for support. The haze in their mind was clearing slightly and through the kitchen door they could hear their friends’ merriment carrying on.</p>
<p><br/><em> No </em> , the thought intruded their mind hard and fast. <em> They’re not your friends. Catra and Adora’s friends. </em>Their gaze focused on the granite counter top, the sound of their guests began fading into the background again. They don’t know how long they were standing there like that, but eventually the sound of the refrigerator door behind them opening and shutting shook them out of their trance. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re the one that wanted to throw this party so bad, why aren’t you out there soaking up the limelight as Grand Host... or... whatever...” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Double Trouble turned on their heels, forgetting the drink clutched to their chest and allowing it to slosh over and out onto the linoleum floor in front of them. They glanced down at the mess for a moment before flickering their gaze back up to Adora. She held a bottle of grape soda in one hand with the other still hanging onto the door of the refrigerator, she let it sit there for seemingly forever before letting it drop back down to her side. They stood there for a moment staring at each other, Double Trouble’s mouth hung open, preparing to say something but the words were lost in their stupor. Adora was the one to break eye contact, she turned around and reached inside a cabinet to retrieve a clear glass. The motions blurred together in Double Troubles vision but eventually their warm champagne flute was replaced by an ice cold glass of water. They hadn’t realized how parched they were until they started chugging the water and when they were done, warm hands cupped theirs, guiding them down to the counter, making sure the glass cup made it safely to its destination. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“There’s like six empty bottles of wine and champagne and god knows what else in the can already.” Adora chuckled. She picked up the empty glass and pondered it for a moment, turning it around in her hand before taking it to the sink and setting it down. “How much of that can I assume was you? And you look like crap, ya know.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A crash came from the living room followed by what sounded like a very drunk Bow and Sea Hawk trying to come up with a shanty on the spot but it just sounded like a bunch slurred gibberish. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hmm... Setting whatever that is aside, this night hasn't been a total disaster.” Adora took slow, calculated steps towards Double Trouble, glaring up as she stood toe to toe with them. They steeled themselves at Adora’s poor attempt at intimidation, fighting through all the alcohol, and leaned over their roommate, matching her glare. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And?” A stinging pang of some sort rushed through them, sobering them up slightly. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And the plotting behind my back with my girlfriend stops here, you don’t need to be a bad influence on her. First it’s a party, next is robbing a bank or something I don’t know.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Double Trouble gawked at Adora. They were confused to say the least and maybe that rush of whatever from before didn’t sober them up enough to process this situation. They stared at Adora, mouth hung wide open. Before they got the chance to question her, she rushed out of the kitchen, pushing through the door with a force Double Trouble thought only She-Ra was capable of. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Out in the living room, Bow and Sea Hawk had somehow managed to tip the whole couch over onto its back. They each had an arm slung around the others shoulders and were laughing merrily and clutching their guts while still trying to push verses out. Adora walked up behind Catra who had been watching the scene and laughing hysterically while trying to hold on to her beer. She was doubled over, threatening to fall over onto the ground herself. Adora placed a hand on the center of her girlfriend’s back and started scratching the spot gently. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey, Adora,” Catra straightened up and turned around, slinging her arms around Adora’s neck “Did you catch that? What a bunch of idiots, am I right?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Adora laughed and turned her attention back to the two in the turned over couch. Huntara and Scorpia were on either side, hoisting the piece of furniture back over into its proper position with the two overgrown babies still losing their minds in each other’s arms. In the distance, Mermista stood with a hand pressed firmly over her face, shaking her head back and forth. Glimmer was mirroring her not too far away. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Did you find DT?” Catra pulled herself together momentarily to ask the question. Adora ripped her attention away from her boisterous friends to make eye contact with Catra. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah.” She started, nodding her head furiously. “Yeah, they’re in the kitchen. I don’t think they’re feeling too well. They look a little… <em> green</em>… if you will.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Catra and Adora both chortled at the stupid joke. Adora stood behind Catra, arms wrapped loosely around her waist.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“See, I think you’re having a good time. I haven’t even seen you freak out yet tonight, not once, good on you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m trying this new laid back thing. It’s cool. It’s cool. It’s all cool.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Uh huh…” Catra twisted around in her girlfriend's arms and raised an eyebrow at her. “You saying that makes you sound a little less cool.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Beyond Adora, Catra could see Double Trouble slinking out of the kitchen and she could say that Adora was right, their roommate didn’t look too good at all. She watched them make their way towards their room with a hand on the wall for support. The thought of going to check on her friend crossed Catra’s mind, but Adora guiding her to where a group of people started playing another round of Pin the Wings On the Kowl interrupted her.</p>
<p><br/>Eventually the guests made their way out, thankfully not leaving behind too much of a mess for the trio to clean up in the morning. Catra and Adora said goodnight to the last of their guests and readied themselves for bed. Adora wanted to deal with the mess right then and there but Catra was able to talk her out of it for the night. Still slightly tipsy, she retrieved a glass of water before heading off for the night. On her way back to her room her eyes fell on Double Trouble’s door. She was reminded of earlier in the night when she saw them sneaking off to their room, looking sick as a dog. Catra quietly stepped towards the door, pondering whether or not her roommate would still be awake at this hour. She stood for a moment weighing the decision out in her head and eventually raised her hand to gently knock on the door just loud enough for them to hear it if they were awake and quiet enough to not disturb them if they weren’t. She waited for a minute, beginning to consider turning around to head to bed when the door slowly creaked open and Double Trouble was leaning against the doorframe, wrapped in a robe. <br/><br/></p>
<p>“Oh, you’re awake.” Catra absentmindedly wrapped her free hand around her glass of water. “I saw you sneaking off earlier, and now that I got a good look at you you sure do look like shit. You need anything?” <br/><br/></p>
<p>“Oh, kitten, you think you look that much better than I do right now?” The two eyed each other before Double Trouble tilted their head up slightly and let out a tired laugh. “I’m fine, thank you. I assume Princess wants to start on this mess first thing, so we should both get to bed. See you in the morning, darling.” <br/><br/></p>
<p>Catra said her good nights and turned for her room as Double Trouble shut their own door behind her. She couldn’t help but catch a glimpse of the mess that was her living room as she went and suddenly found herself wishing their were far more hours between that moment and “first thing.” Groaning, she pushed the door open to her room and joined her already fast asleep girlfriend in bed, curling up into her side. <br/><br/></p>
<p>In their room, Double Trouble curled up into their own bed again. They stayed in the same position they were in prior to Catra’s visit and they allowed their mind to travel to the same dark corners as well. They shut their eyes tight in an attempt to shut out the thoughts but on nights like these they know all they can do is try to suppress it and count. <br/><br/></p>
<p>
  <em>Just count... just count sheep... 1... 2... 3... 4...</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Double Trouble sat knees and arms crossed, staring at their coffee intensely, mindlessly bouncing their foot in midair. The sound of their opponent finally moving their piece drew their attention away from the steaming cup. It had taken Sea Hawk five minutes to make an opening move. Pawn to G4. A poor opening move. They glanced at the board for a moment before moving their own pawn to D5 with a glance at their opponent. A waiter walked past with a pot of coffee and Double Trouble held their cup up for a refill, thanking the staff member as they walked off. Sea Hawk was still trying to figure out his next move, one of his hands tugging at the end of his mustache, curling it around a fingertip. Pawn to A4. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> That doesn’t even make sense.  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They had only recently taught Sea Hawk how to play chess so they weren’t expecting the most difficult match in the world but Double Trouble knew they covered the basics well enough for him to know he needed to take the center of the board for a chance to win. Their bouncing foot underneath the table began to speed up slightly as they moved another pawn across the board. The rest of the game played out mindlessly in front of them, when they realized Sea Hawk had no strategy it was decided it wasn’t worth wasting the mental strength to try to counter nonsense. The match came down to Double Trouble capturing most of Sea Hawk’s pieces, leaving only his king and a few pawns while he furiously twisted away at his mustache before conceding. Sea Hawk tipped his king over and let out an exaggerated sigh, drawing the attention of a few other customers in the cafe. He let his head drop back onto the backrest of his armchair and rubbed his hands into his face. Double Trouble sipped their coffee, grinning into their cup as they watched their opponent across the board, their foot still bouncing on their knee underneath the table. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You insist on playing this game in such silence?” He groaned up into the air but Double Trouble knew the question was for them. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I do.” They took another slow sip from their mug, the speed of their bouncing increasing evermore slightly. Sea Hawk finally lifted his head from what must have been a very uncomfortable position for him and grinned back at the shapeshifter. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh dear lizard friend, what worries thee?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>From underneath the table, Double Trouble felt Sea Hawk’s booted foot pressing up against the bottom of their own, forcing them to stop the bouncing motion. Above the table, his arms were crossed with a cocky smile set upon his face and an eyebrow raised in their direction. Their own grin from earlier had long since faded. Gently setting their mug down on its saucer, they pushed it slightly away from the edge of the table before uncrossing their legs and leaning forward. Before speaking they glanced around the cafe at all the other occupants. Pulling their chair closer to the table, they leaned back in it, clearing their throat and glancing around one more time. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m fine.” They folded their hands in their lap and crossed their ankles underneath their chair. <em> Why are you lying? Smile. Don’t look nervous. Smile. </em>“There’s just a lot of people in here today, it’s a little stuffy… And that person over there is trying to mix green with orange in that outfit, it’s giving me an absolute migraine.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sea Hawk made a show of whipping open the carrying case for their chessboard and folding the board up, tossing all the pieces into the case before placing it on the seat beside the two of them. Dramatically, he pulled his own chair closer towards the table and propped his elbows on the surface, cradling his head in his hands. Double Trouble scrunched their face at the gesture, waiting for the puppy dog face their companion was sure to pull. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“‘Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.’” Sea Hawk released his head and reached across the table with both hands, making a grabbing gesture for one of Double Trouble’s own. They tilted their head at their companion in confusion but offered him what he wanted anyway. He clasped their hand tightly between his own and gave them a wide smile. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What the hell is this?” Double Trouble’s ears pricked up at their own voice. They suddenly wanted to yank their hand from his grip but it had tightened as he let out a booming laugh that drew more attention than his sigh from before. Their joined hands dropped to the table and Sea Hawk finally loosened his grasp on the one he clutched onto, but still cradled it loosely in his palms, waiting for Double Trouble to take it back on their own. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I just wanted you to know you could talk to me, if there was ever something wrong… you could talk to me.” He gave Double Trouble a genuine smile before shooting up from his seat and retrieving his items from the table. “I must go! My fair lady awaits me at home. I appreciate you teaching me your, uh, king’s game, friend. Until next time!” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Double Trouble returned the goodbye with a smile, leaning back in their chair and crossing their legs again as they waved the odd man off. After he fully exited the cafe, they held their coffee close to their chest, feeling the steam rise up from underneath their face and their gaze set on the haphazardly packed away chessboard sitting in the seat next to them. The groups of people chattering away all around them faded to background noise as they focused on the item. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Friend? Friend, friend, friend… he kept saying friend. Only Catra calls me her friend. Even that’s a stretch. </em> The chessboard blurred out of their vision and suddenly they weren’t looking at anything at all, just a mishmash of shapes and colors. <em> He kept saying friend but why? You’re just teaching him how to play a game. Why are people outside of The Crimson Waste like this? </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Their mind began to spiral downwards, repeating the sentences over and over until another waiter with more coffee pulled them out of it. The cup in their hand had lost its steam, they held it out for the waiter to refill again but afterwards just returned the mug to where it had previously been, clutched to their chest, allowing the steam to rise up their face again as the stared further into the distance. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Back at the apartment… </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Catra sat sprawled out on the couch surfing through channels, unable to find anything worthy of her attention. After checking a few more channels, she clicked the television off and let the remote fall out of her hand, onto the floor below. She let that arm hang while she draped the other across her face and groaned into it. Double Trouble was nerding it out with Sea Hawk on a coffee date and Adora had been poofed away by Glimmer earlier that morning to deal</p>
<p>with some big princess problem, leaving Catra alone to her own devices. She could’ve said she was offended that Glimmer didn’t deem her worthy enough to poof her along too but she decided it was a stone better left unturned for the time being. Besides, Catra would probably pick She-Ra to help with any sort of major problem over herself too. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Catra twisted her body around so she was holding herself tightly with her face pressed into the back cushion of the couch. She considered getting up and actually doing something but she opted to stay in that position, cradling herself and breathing in her own warm breath against the cushions. She hadn’t stayed like that for long by the time she heard heavy, pounding footsteps marching up to the front door of her apartment before it was loudly thrown open and slammed shut. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Just gotta leave it to Glimmer to let Shadow Weaver make all the important decisions, right?” Adora’s voice was just below a shout. Catra took in a deep breath before allowing herself to break free of the warm embrace of herself and the couch. Adora had already plowed through the living room, to the kitchen, and was angrily digging around in the refrigerator. She pulled out a bottle containing an orange colored drink and struggled to get the cap off, shaking up the bottle in the process. Catra approached her girlfriend and rested one hand on her shoulder and used the other to take the bottle from her and set it down on the counter next to them. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Now every time we have an issue it’s always ‘spell this’ ‘magic that’ ‘Shadow Weaver says this’ I’m tired of it Catra, it’s so exhausting.” Adora let out a low groan that bordered more on the line of a deep, internal scream and pushed her face into the crook of Catra’s neck. Catra let her tail wrap around the duo’s legs as she pulled Adora close to her, rubbing her hand in a circular motion against her back. She didn’t know much about the situation the princesses have been dealing with, just that in the past few weeks, they had all been experiencing a draining feeling at certain points throughout the day, especially when using their powers, all at the same time no matter where each princess was. Bow had been working on developing some sort of device to try to gather information on what could be interfering with all of their powers and that’s the last Catra knew of the issue before Princess Purple magicked her girlfriend away that morning. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Adora collected herself, still pressed into Catra’s body. </p>
<p>Slowly, she untangled herself and picked up her bottle of soda again, removing the cap with ease this time and taking a long sip. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So I told you about the… <em> thing </em>Bow is making, right?” Catra nodded, silently urging her girlfriend to continue. “According to Glimmer, Shadow Weaver seems to think she can figure out what’s happening faster, but we’d all have to do some weird ritual thing with her, I don’t know, there was more but I didn’t want to hear anymore of it and just walked out of the meeting.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>As Adora explained what had been happening while she was out, she guided Catra out of the kitchen to take a seat on the living room couch and curl up into her lap. She tried to explain Glimmer’s plan to Catra more in depth and her reservations on it but was eventually cut off by the sound of the front door slowly creaking open and shut. The two girls’ focus snapped away from their conversation and towards Double Trouble, a hand that gripped their house keys hovered over a dish next to the front door, ready to drop them in while the other still loosely held onto the doorknob. Maintaining eye contact, they released the handle and gently placed their keys down into the bowl instead of letting them drop. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Is this a bad time, girls?” <em> Stupid, stupid, stupid, why did you ask that, this is your apartment too. Just keep your head down and walk to your room, head down and walk.  </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, we were just figuring out what to do for dinner.” Adora sat up from her position in Catra’s lap and caught Double Trouble’s eye again before they were able to disappear into the hallway leading to their room. She narrowed her gaze at them and continued, “Did you have plans?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No.” They tilted their head up at her and straightened their back, resting their hands on their hips as they positioned themselves square with Adora. There was a strange tension between the two and Catra felt like the odd man out as her gaze shifted between her girlfriend and her roommate. Their eyes were locked onto each other with an intensity that reminded her of the way she used to look at Adora all the times she tried to take her down in battle. It should have been a simple conversation, but to Catra it seemed more like a duel. She almost felt like she could reach her hand out in front of one of their faces and wave it around, but they still wouldn’t break eye contact with each other. She was almost tempted to try it before Double Trouble spoke up again. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We got another pamphlet of coupons from that pizza place down the street, put it on the counter, I was thinking of that.” They waved their hand in the direction of the kitchen and swiftly turned tail for their room. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Catra waited for the sound of their door opening and closing before smacking her girlfriend on the shoulder and throwing her hands in the air. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What the hell?” She questioned with her hands still up and splayed out next to her face. “Why do you have to make every interaction with them feel like an interrogation?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I was <em> not </em>interrogating them, I was just asking them a question.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The two sank into the couch and let time pass by as Adora flipped the television on and tried to find something to watch. She hadn’t been paying too much attention to what was on, though, her mind was still too busy playing over the events of her meeting. There were some things that she hadn’t mentioned to Catra, some things that she was better off waiting until the princesses and Bow had more proof of to be able to tell her. She could only imagine the argument it would flare up if she revealed to her girlfriend that Glimmer had suspicions of Double Trouble being involved with the power draining. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Earlier that day, in the war room…  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s just a simple ritual! We would just need them for, like, a second!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh! <em> Oh! </em> Just a <em> simple </em> ritual? Says <em> who </em>?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The meeting had turned into a screaming match amongst the princesses, Bow and Scorpia the only ones trying to settle them all down. Fists were pounding against the table, princesses were rocketing out of their chairs, threatening to jump across the table at each other. The worst of the group were Glimmer and Adora, sitting at opposite ends of the circular table, their words being the only clear ones in the ring of shouting voices. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Adora can you just side with me on just this bit? Just this teeny little bit, just this one time?” Glimmer slammed both hands, open-faced, down on the table, seeming to stop the ruckus and put all the attention on her. “Just this one time it would be nice to have my friend back me up.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What do you expect me to do?” Adora tangled her hands into her hair, threatening to rip the strands from their roots. “You’re asking me to detain my girlfriend’s <em> only </em> friend! <em> Again! </em>And with what proof?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You cannot deny that those eyes are remarkably similar to Double Trouble’s.” Glimmer held the photo caught from a security drone up for Adora to see once again. She was getting sick of having the stupid, blurry picture shoved into her face, she just wanted to rip it out of Glimmer’s hands and shred the thing. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“This is just a picture of some random person—“</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“A random person with eyes just like Double Trouble- who we know to be a shapeshifter with a history of betrayal for personal gain- wandering into The Whispering Woods for no apparent reason?” She held the picture up again. You could see the eyes of the person in the photo, yes, and they looked somewhat similar to her roommate’s, yes, but that didn’t mean anything to Adora just yet. Either way, her mouth hung agape, the words caught in her throat, she didn’t have a sensible way of explaining her stance. “You can’t deny the eyes and you can’t deny that the timing of it all is just weird, Adora. It just is!” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Adora dropped back down into her seat. Bow and the rest of the princesses stared at her, waiting for a response. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s not like you trust them either, why are you being so hardheaded about this? If we can just get them now, Shadow Weaver sa—“</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It would just be a better idea to let me keep an eye on them until we can find actual proof.” Adora, finally able to catch her breath, took her wringing hands from under the table and placed them out in front of her. She clawed at the table, maybe trying to gain some sense of control, before standing back up and matching her friend’s glare from across the table. “When you show me actual proof, you can make a move on them. But for right now, I have this under control. You and Shadow Weaver will just cause another near-apocalypse if you get your hands on them now.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re only defense is that they’re Catra’s friend and, no offense, but she doesn’t have a very good track record of what you would call having morally upright friends.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah, hi, full offense taken, actually.” Scorpia raised a claw into the air but was quickly hushed by Glimmer. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And Shadow Weaver is much better? You honestly trust her opinion more than you trust Catra’s? More than you trust<em> mine? </em>” Adora was tired of the arguing, the defeat was evident in her eyes. She looked down at her feet, shaking her head. In a rushed and heated moment, she decided to turn around and leave her friends to argue amongst themselves in the war room, not listening to any of the calls that came after her. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> A little after pizza time… </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em> Finally </em>there’s something good on TV.” Catra tossed the remote onto the coffee table from her spot on the couch. Dude, Where’s My Car? played on the television before the three roommates. Catra landed somewhere in the beginning of the movie and immediately started laughing at the jokes while Adora and Double Trouble stared at the screen, blank faced. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em> This is stupid.” </em>The two echoed each other from either side of Catra. She waved a hand in each of their faces and hushed them before reaching for a now cold slice of pizza. While Catra was leaned forward, Double Trouble caught a side glance at Adora, who was watching the silliness play out with a blank expression on her face. They watched her lift a hand to her mouth, trying to covertly chew on one of her fingernails. Folding their hands into their criss crossed legs, they leaned back into their seat, straightening their posture and also giving in to watching pizzas fall from the ceiling on screen. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> This isn’t bad. It’s not great but it’s not awful. </em>Double Trouble caught themselves rubbing their palm intensely with their thumb, they glanced over to the two sitting next to them to see if they noticed and hid their hands deeper into their legs. Their focus went back to the movie that had just then phased out into a blasting commercial for some amazing towels. Catra stood, stretching out her entire body for a period of time before announcing her move to get more snacks from the kitchen, leaving the two alone. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The second Catra disappeared into the kitchen, Double Trouble absentmindedly began chewing on the inside of their cheek. They turned slightly towards Adora and pondered something to say, but before they could even open their mouth, she cut them off with a hand stuck straight in the air in front of them. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Don’t.” She took a second, furrowing her brow as if she were considering her next words very carefully. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Double Trouble accidentally bit down a little too hard on the soft flesh inside their mouth, drawing a small amount of blood. It shocked them momentarily but whatever they did triggered a sense of confidence in them, washing away their previous jitters. Taking a note from Adora’s book, Double Trouble didn’t give her the chance to finish the thought she was so carefully crafting in her head. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Don’t what?” They tried to hush themselves so Catra wouldn’t hear through the thin walls. They quickly glanced at the door towards the kitchen before continuing. “Don’t try to be your friend? You’re going to have to get used to me eventually. We do live together, you know.”  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Adora leaned in, keeping eye contact while doing so, the gears were still turning in her head, still thinking of something to say. At that moment, Catra returned from the kitchen with an array of snacks, snapping the two’s attention away from each other. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh god, did I walk in on you guys about to make out or something?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She made a face at them and laughed, continuing on about not wanting them to get that friendly or something while she dumped the bags of chips onto the coffee table in front of them. Double Trouble tried once again to fix their attention onto the television as they continued on, chewing at the inside of their mouth. They could feel Adora’s glare burning into the side of their skull. They tried to laugh at whatever Catra had said but their focus was beginning to phase in and out, the jittering feeling deep inside them returning with a vengeance. When they felt themself begin to grow lightheaded, they tried to discreetly push their palms against their knees and press their back up against the back cushion of the couch. They let out a slow, calculated, breath and tried regain their composure before anyone got the chance to notice they lost it. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Pawn to G4, DT, you’re leaving your center open. You’ll never have a chance of winning the game if you leave your center open…  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> Staring into the depths of a pitch black room. A single bulb hung from the ceiling in the very center, the light not daring to spill out, only illuminating a small area directly around it. Shadows dashed all around, Double Trouble’s eyes couldn’t lock onto them but they knew they were there, they could catch the glimpses, though  only in their peripheral. Their head swiveled back and forth just trying to get a concrete look at something, anything, but they just couldn’t. The sound of small stones being tossed across the ground rang from the opposite side of the room.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “H-hello?” Double Trouble called out into the darkness from their crouched position on the cold ground. They couldn’t see anything but they could feel that they were in minimal clothing, only covering the necessities. They could feel the cold air encapsulate their whole body, goosebumps pulling their skin tight.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> A quick shuffling. The lightbulb in the center of the room flickered out. They scooted forward slightly and placed their hands on the concrete in front of them, sending a shiver through their whole body. The room around them felt like it was closing in and the panic in their chest began to boom. They cautiously crawled forward, using their hands to feel out the area in front of them before moving on. They crawled and crawled and crawled, surely they thought they should’ve reached the end of the room or cell or chamber or wherever they had been trapped by then. By the time the fear in their heart started to fizzle away, their hand landed on a smooth object, sparking it right back up. The lightbulb flickered back on, giving more light than it had before. Double Trouble could see that their hand had landed on a gleaming black shoe. They tilted their head up gently to get a look at the owner of the shoe. When their eyes landed on their own face up above them they let out a weak yelp and fell backwards, almost crushing their own tail beneath them. Their face plunged toward them at a great speed and... </em>
</p><p> </p><p>And that was the last thing they saw before their eyes shot open, the morning sunlight filtering in through the blinds and onto their face. The light shimmered in their eyes and they held a hand up to block it. The dream quickly faded to the back of their memory as they forced themselves out of bed to make their way to the vanity across the room. They sat and contemplated their array of cleansers and moisturizers and various other cosmetics. As they looked around at the contents on the table in front of them, their gaze fell on their own reflection staring back in the mirror before them. They leaned forward, propping their chin on their hands as they let their elbows rest on the table. They took in the scaly complexion of their skin, the green/yellow glow of their eyes. They shook themselves out of their miniature trance to begin their routine of cream after cream. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Those shoes… you know who’s shoes those were. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>A flash of the shoes from their dream flickered in their mind, just as out of nowhere as the thought. Slowly, remnants of their dream trickled back to them as they mindlessly applied their next cream, staring at their own reflection. The voice in the back of their head kept telling them they knew who the shoes belonged to, the thought repeatedly forced its way to the forefront of their mind, quickly and violently.  It began to shake them out of their routine, their hands dropped to the surface of their vanity, landing over an open bottle of mascara and smearing the black gunk onto their palm. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> You know.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I can’t remember… I can’t remember… Why are you taunting me, we can’t you just tell me!? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Fists clenched, they didn’t realize how tight they had been holding their eyes shut until faint blips of light seemed to shine through their eyelids. The shoes flashed in their mind again, standing on the cold, concrete ground. The pinstriped pants that dangled right above them. They knew they didn’t see the pants in the dream, it was like a suppressed memory pushing through the haze of their mind. </p><p> </p><p>A knock on their bedroom door shook them out of the maze their head had become. </p><p> </p><p>“We’re heading out, do you need anything?” Catra’s voice shouted through the wood.  </p><p> </p><p>Double Trouble’s gaze was still stuck on their own reflection, even if their mind had cleared up slightly. A few moments passed before Catra knocked on the door again, harder this time. </p><p> </p><p>“I-I’m good, thanks.” They called back, still watching themselves in the mirror, moisturizer still not entirely rubbed into their skin yet. They quickly finished their process, trying to brush away the dream as they rubbed the remaining cream, gently into their face.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> In the aisles of a small grocery store… </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Catra lazily pushed the cart forward as her girlfriend led the way, weaving through aisles manically trying to find whatever superfruit her workout/diet regimen called for this time. She knew Adora could get stressed over the small things but this time her stress level to stressor size ratio was off the charts; certainly a fairyfruit wasn’t worth this much hair pulling and huffing. </p><p> </p><p>“I just need—” Adora frantically pushed the items around on the shelves in front of her “I just need one! Just a single one!”</p><p> </p><p>“Well I’m starting to think that maybe a piece of fruit won’t be in the canned goods aisle.”  Catra sighed, abandoning her post as holder of the shopping cart handlebars and leaving the aisle they were in, in turn abandoning an Adora that had shoved half her torso into a shelf, still rifling through the items far in the back as if they weren’t the same as the one in front. Catra weaved through clusters of other customers, almost ripping the head off of a guy who walked square into her when he had the whole other side of the walkway to use, and made her way towards the produce section of the grocery store. It didn’t take her long to locate the precious fruit her girlfriend was searching for. Adora eventually caught up to her, cart in tow, just in time for Catra to turn around and be able to plop the fairyfruit right into the basket. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m also starting to think checking off the boxes on your grocery list isn’t what’s getting you so worked up.” Catra raised an eyebrow at the girl on the opposite end of the cart. “Are you maybe having issues with something? Maybe She-Ra related issues?” </p><p> </p><p>“Glimmer related issues, more like.” Adora huffed and sank into the handlebars of the cart, letting it roll forward slightly. Catra grabbed the front of the cart and stopped it from moving anymore before it had the chance to entirely get away from Adora and let her fall flat on her face. Though that would have been hilarious. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, spill it, what’s new with the glitter bomb?” Catra leaned into the end of the cart, balancing out Adora’s weight against it. “Still trying to push for th—“</p><p> </p><p>Before Catra could finish her question, Adora’s eyes rolled back, showing nothing but whites, the weight keeping the cart pressed against Catra’s torso abruptly gave out. The scene played out in slow motion as she watched Adora drop to the ground. She tried to jump around the cart to catch her feinting girlfriend but she was only able to fall to the ground in front of her and cushion the landing as best she could. A crowd of customers began to form around them as they lay in the middle of the produce aisle, Catra trying to shake her girlfriend out of her daze. She shifted her position, her breathing growing more frenzied, she cradled Adora’s head in her lap as she tried to gently slap her cheeks to wake her. An employee eventually burst through the crowd with a bottle of water to give her but the liquid just trickled around the edges of Adora’s mouth when Catra sat her up, trying to get her to drink it. She could barely register the feeling of her phone buzzing away in her back pocket. Tears she didn’t know were brimming fell down her face as she gently shifted Adora in her lap so she could reach her phone. </p><p> </p><p>“Catra!” Bow’s frantic voice shouted from the other end of the line. “Catra, are you with Adora?”</p><p> </p><p>Things started to fall together in Catra’s mind. Over the past few months, she’s watched her girlfriend grow dizzy and lightheaded due to whatever phenomenon the princesses were dealing with but she had never seen her full on pass out before. Had the dizzy spells been getting worse and Catra never realized? The crowd that formed around the two girls grew thicker and closer to them. Her eyes darted around, meeting ever face that stared at them all, wanting to shout at them, tell them to stop looking so stupid and to help her girlfriend, but she could hardly even form the words to respond to Bow. </p><p> </p><p>“Catra!” </p><p> </p><p>“Ye-yes! Yes, I’m with Adora right now she just, uh, she just fainted in the middle of the store.” Catra stammered into her nearly forgotten phone, her breathing so shaky her next words were almost lost in it,  “I need help… I need— I need help, I don’t know what to do” </p><p> </p><p>Not being able to keep focus on the words coming from Bow’s end of the line, Catra began her attempt at shaking Adora awake. The limp body in her lap just shook back and forth with her motions, but Adora was not coming back from whatever this was. </p><p> </p><p>“—in the war room, you need to get her here now, none of them are waking up!”</p><p> </p><p>“Please… Please… I need help…”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Earlier, in the war room… </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Should we be holding this meeting without Adora?” Scorpia seemed to be the only one concerned with the lack of Adora’s presence, rubbing her claws together under the table as she looked around at all the other princesses. </p><p> </p><p>“Well Adora hasn’t answered any calls, texts, or her door so we’re just going to have to do without.” Glimmer’s gaze never left the center of the table as she spoke. </p><p> </p><p>“And since we made Glimmer <em> promise </em> not to poof in on us unexpectedly anymore—“</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, how’s that working out for you now?” Glimmer’s glare prevented another word from coming out of Bow. “Anyway… onto business. I’m sure the rest of you have also been noticing how much stronger our dizzy spells have been getting. Bow has been working nonstop to get to the bottom of this and after a lot of hard work he has an update for us.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well.” Bow stood from his chair and pressed a button on a device. The device projected a blurry image onto the wall in front of it. All of the princesses mouths hung agape at the image before them. “I have a good update and a bad update. The bad update is I’ve stationed a surplus of drones around The Whispering Woods to see if we could catch any more activity of the person from the original photo.” </p><p> </p><p>The first slide showed a picture similar to the one from their previous photo, a blurry man entering The Whispering Woods from the same direction he had before. With the click of a button, a new picture flashed up onto the wall. This one somewhere deep in the woods, the man was caught walking towards a glowing source somewhere beyond the tangle of branches and vines. </p><p> </p><p>“I programmed the drones to follow any humanoid beings it catches on camera going into the woods and to take photos every ten minutes. This next photo is the last one that was transmitted from this particular drone before it was presumably destroyed by the person in these pictures.” </p><p> </p><p>The last photo was of the man standing next to what appeared to be a glowing crystal in the middle of a clearing. He was slightly blurred, it looked as though his hand was stuck in a bag while his upper half was twisted around, it was hard to tell, but it seemed like he was looking directly at the drone when the picture was taken. A few items were spread out on the ground around the crystal but the lighting was too off to know for sure what they were. One thing about the picture was unmistakable, however, and it was the presence of those glowing green eyes that looked remarkably similar to a shapeshifter they all know. </p><p> </p><p>“These pictures were taken around the same time as your last dizzy spell, but with that drone not returning when I signaled for them all, we can’t know for sure where this setup is.” Bow nodded at the group and reached forward to switch off the projector. </p><p> </p><p>“Didn’t you say there was a good update?” Perfuma’s hand stuck up in the air, a nervous quiver in her voice. </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, uh…” Bow looked at everyone in turn. “I’ve been picking up on signals from The Whispering Woods that may be connected to whatever has been messing with you guys. I’m hoping if I can pinpoint the signals I can find where these crystals we see in the photos are.” </p><p> </p><p>“Isn’t there a GPS or something on the drone? Can’t you—“ Frosta stopped mid sentence, falling limp and slowly drooping, sideways out of her chair. To the right of her was Perfuma who attempted to catch her as she fell but only succumbed to the same fate as Frosta. </p><p> </p><p>Bow and Glimmer watched, panicked and wide-eyed as, one by one, all the princesses began to pass out. On the floor, back in their seats, flat on the table, the elemental princesses were all unconscious.  Bow turned to Glimmer to try and say something. Just as he did her eyes rolled back and she, too, began to drop to the ground. Bow made for it and caught Glimmer before she was able to hit the floor, gently laying her down flat, attempting to use his quiver to cushion her head. His eyes darted across the room, looking at all the limp bodies that laid around him, his heart thudding. As his gaze fell on the chair Adora typically occupied, a prickling sensation ran across his whole body. Mindlessly, Bow patted himself down, looking for his phone, and dialed the only number he could think of to help. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> At a coffee shop a few blocks from the apartment… </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Double Trouble’s coffee sat empty next to them as they flipped through their newspaper. Another waiter came around to offer a refill. The only reason they had kept accepting the refills at this point was so they had a reason to keep themselves planted for just a little while longer. Things in the apartment had been getting a little easier with Adora since their movie night but they still felt something twisting in themselves whenever they’re around her. As if Adora acted normal to their face but had a piercing glare on them whenever their back was turned. Like she was watching and calculating their every move. It sent a shiver down Double Trouble’s spine just thinking about it. They lazily picked up their mug and took a sip from it, turning another page after setting it back down. </p><p> </p><p>The thoughts of their dream and the voice taunting them began to trickle back into their mind as they scanned the local news section of their newspaper. Their eyes began to flutter across the ink on the paper but their brain couldn’t retain the words it formed as their mind began to turn to a dark labyrinth. They were almost lost in it until their phone buzzed on the side table, next to their coffee, sending small ripples through the liquid. They groaned, folding their newspaper over one time, in half one more time, and placing it down on their lap, letting out one more sigh before reaching for their phone.</p><p> </p><p><b>Catra (12:23pm): </b>war room. now. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Catra took in all the bodies that lay side by side on the floor of the war room. Bow had found mats to lay the princesses out on so they wouldn’t be sore when they eventually, hopefully, woke from their slumber. Their chests slowly rose and sank every few moments, occasionally one of them would scrunch up their face as if they were in pain only to release the tension the moment Catra went to their side to check on them. When Catra had arrived earlier with a limp Adora hung over her shoulders, Bow had been siphoning small vials of the princesses blood and was now in the corner of the war room staring up at a large screen while he inserted each vial individually into the control panel in front of it. He moaned and groaned as the results for each one popped up on the screen. Every grunt drew Catra’s attention to the screen as well. Even though the words and symbols that popped up meant nothing to her, she hoped that she could find some sort of comfort in them, but they were just letters and numbers on a screen to her. Her gaze fell on her girlfriend again. She crouched down next to her, feeling the rag on her forehead to see if it needed to be changed yet. Adora shifted slightly in her unconscious state, giving Catra a fleeting sense of hope that the end was near, but Adora continued to  lay still afterwards. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow slammed his hands down on the control panel of his giant screen, snapping Catra’s attention away from her girlfriends limp form. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” Catra stood from her crouched position and walked over to Bow’s console. She glanced up at the massive screen but the symbols crowding it still meant nothing to her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All of their reading are normal… I think we just have to wait this out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait this out? All of this shit has been going on for months! Why did you wait to let it get this bad?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not our fault! We have had a lead and Adora won’t let us chase it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because—“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>‘best friend’ might be the one behind it all.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The voice was so weak but it was still enough to make Catra and Bow jump. They spun around to see Glimmer trying to push herself up from the mat she was laying on. Bow darted out of his chair so fast it made the seat spin around for a few seconds after his departure and he made his way to Glimmers side. He handed her a glass of water, trying to get her to lay back down as to not exert too much energy. Catra stayed planted where she was, glaring at the princess. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean, my best friend is behind this?” Catra raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms tightly against her chest, taking slow, menacing steps towards Glimmer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Double Trouble. They’re the one who’s been messing with us this entire time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We don’t have any proof of that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just show her the pictures then, Adora may be but I’m sure she’s not blind enough to miss the truth.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow huffed and rose from the ground next to Glimmer. From the table in the center of the war room, he retrieved his tech pad. He fiddled around with his pad before turning the screen up to Catra. One by one, he flipped through the photos taken by the drone, Catra’s eyes glazing over at the very last one. She leaned close to the screen, surely it was a mistake, it had to have been. Strange lighting or something, the picture was taken in the middle of the woods for Christ’s sake, who knows what sort of effect that has on a camera lense. Regardless, Catra’s jaw hung slack and all could she do was take a seat somewhere and, expression still glazed over, pull out her phone and send a quick text before letting it drop to the floor. Her face fell into her hands and she stayed like that for a long while, only peaking up occasionally to glance over at Adora. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Just a little ways away from the war room…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Double Trouble held their hands close to their chest, not realizing how tight they had been squeezing and wringing them together as they walked. They got nothing more but coordinates to go to when trying to question Catra on what was going on, the pins and needles in their body spiked harder and harder with each step they took forward. They had long since left any sort of civilization and suspected they only had maybe a half hour longer walk until they reached their destination. It was strange, they had never been invited to the war room as they were, only taken there as a prisoner or visited as Flutterina. They pondered the possibility of the princesses needing their help, perhaps, and a small margin of their anxiety turned to excitement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A chance to prove I can be helpful to them? All of them? In a good way?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>More likely they just want to prove how useless you are. How they can’t trust you. They’ll give you a task, knowing you’ll mess it up, just wait. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The margin of excitement turned back. They stopped in their tracks and looked down at their feet, blades of bright green grass poking up around the edges. A small smile touched their face. A glance up and around showed them a familiar sight. The woods, deep within them there was a tent, a tent that Double Trouble used to call home only a few short months prior. They positioned themselves square with the woods, closed their eyes, and took in a long, deep breath. They exhaled and opened their eyes, looking deep into the woods one last time before collecting themselves and moving on to their initial destination. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A place I can always go back to if I ever need…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A place they’re going to banish you to soon enough…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their steps nearly faltered but Double Trouble kept marching forward. The tracking pad they had been frequently checking told them that they should have been just a little bit longer until they’ve reached the war room. Their heartbeat hastened with each step they took, knowing they would find out if it was the voice in their head or them that was right about what would be waiting for them when they arrived. They took their time on the last leg of their journey, kicking at stones they came across on the path there. Eventually they came to a small patch of woods that head a distinct clearing through twisted vines and branches. Their tracking pad vibrated at their side, the picked it up to see that they were close to the little blip marking their destination. Looking up, they saw the archway of twisted, prickly vines that seemed to be sprouting straight from the dirt below them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This is a pretty menacing hideout for a group of wannabe superheroes. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Slowly, they traversed through the winding path, their head on a constant swivel keeping an eye out for anything. The only light they had was the faint glow of their tracking pad’s screen in the darkness. Images of the lightbulb in the center of the room flickered in their mind though they knew it was just their head playing tricks on them in the bleakness of the path. The tracking pad vibrated fiercely in their hands, they took their attention off the path for a moment to look at it but stumbled over what could have been a root or a large rock, they couldn’t tell. When they were able to regain their bearings, Double Trouble straightened their back and realized they had come face to face with a large wall of vines and ivy, the only bit that wasn’t covered was a large metal plate they assumed to be a door. Not seeing anyway of being able to enter it, they rapped on the metal with their knuckles. There were a few moments before anything happened that were filled with Double Trouble’s mind running wild, their frame beginning to tremble lightly and their breath growing ragged as they patiently waited for an answer to their knock. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They hadn’t realized how cold it had been in the wooded path, their hands came up to rub their arms for warmth when the door before them slid open with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>whir</span>
  </em>
  <span> to reveal an angry Catra and a panicked Bow. Catra reached out to them without saying a word, grabbing them by the collar of their shirt, dragging them to a table in the center of the large room and forcefully pushed them into a seat facing a wall. Double Trouble’s mind went into full panic mode, their heart was pumping faster than it ever had before, they didn’t think they had ever seen Catra this mad at them before, and they didn’t even know what they did yet. Double Trouble took a moment to try to turn to Bow for answers but stopped dead when they noticed Glimmer who had been propped up against a wall, laying on a mat with a glass of water next to her. One by one, they saw the other princesses laid out on the floor on mats, not a single one moving besides the gentle rise and fall of their chests. Double Trouble felt as though their eyes were bugging out of their head as they tried to make eye contact with Catra, but she refused to look at them, only staring coldly at a device in the center of the table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Explain.” From beside Double Trouble, Catra reaches across them and turned on the device. Images flashed onto the wall in front of them, Catra controlling the transitions without saying a word. Double Trouble’s attention shifted back over to the unconscious princesses, Adora to be precise, but a violent jerk of their chair from Catra put their attention back on to the photos before them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Explain!” Catra shouted this time, slamming the remote down on the table. Bow tried to protest from behind them but the feline quickly hushed him. She gripped the back of Double Troubles seat and jiggled it, causing their gaze to dart to her. Double Trouble witnessed something so much more than anger in her eyes, something beyond rage and pain. It made them afraid but more importantly, it broke their heart to see their only friend harbor so many negative emotions all at once toward them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Double Trouble took one more glance at the limp Adora on the ground beyond Catra, something between worry and sorrow filling their chest, and fixed their eyes on the projection in front of them. Catra let out a huff and picked the remote back up, going through the slides one more time for them, ending on the one containing the man and the crystal. As soon as the last photo flashed onto the wall, Double Trouble grew cold in their city, like all of their blood had been replaced with slushing ice. They were frozen, eyes locked on the man, unable to verbalize any thoughts even though Catra’s eyes were boring into the side of their head, waiting for some sort of response. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A familiar sensation washed over Double Trouble, as though their body, their insides, were trying to jitter and shake and tear away from them. Their eyes were trapped staring at the man, staring at the suit, his pants, those…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Those shoes. You know whose shoes those are. You know who they belong to.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Well?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Catra shifted into her Force Captain voice, something she hadn’t pulled out in a long time. She slammed her palms down on the table in front of Double Trouble, digging her claws into the surface before them resulting in an awful screeching sound as she dragged them towards and over the edge of the table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Catra, stop.” Adora’s weakened voice shook all of the waking in the room, even Glimmer who was still recuperating in the corner. Bow scurried out to retrieve water for her, even though it was more likely that he was just trying to escape the tension that had quickly grown in the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From her mat, Adora tried to prop herself to get up but collapsed back down, drawing Catra to her side. Double Trouble watched the two on the ground, their insides still vibrating at an infuriating speed. Their vision started to haze in and out, their mind began spinning so fast they hadn’t even processed that they had darted out of their chair and started running while the attention was no longer on them for a moment. They reached the door they had entered through and began mindlessly slapping at the control panel fixed next to it until the door whirred open for them, the pounding of their feet against the ground was the only thing they could comprehend as they ran and ran while the voice in their head screamed away at them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You know whose shoes they are! You know who they belong to! </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Back in the war room…</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I had the craziest dream.” Catra and Bow were doting on Adora while she tried to position herself sitting up against a wall, Catra supporting her back and Bow, her legs. Glimmer had regained enough strength to scootch her own mat near Adora. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I did too…” Glimmer looked on at the four remaining princesses who have yet to waken. Somehow, Mermista’s scowl was even deeper when she wasn’t awake. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was chained to a wall in a cell or something. There was just a light in the middle of it but that was it. I was just chained there, I even transformed to She-Ra and I wasn’t able to get out of them.” It was clear that as she spoke, each word drained more and more energy from Adora, her voice nearly faltering at the end. Catra tried to bring the water up to her mouth for her to drink but she rejected it. Glimmer sat wide-eyed next to Adora, looking as though there was something she was holding back, just behind her teeth, but couldn’t push it out. She opened and closed her mouth, trying to find the right words to say but eventually just leaned back up against the wall and let out a deep breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Woah, I think I had the same dream.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once again, everyone’s attention in the room snapped to the newly waking princess. Frosta remained laying down on her mat, rubbing her face like she had just woken up from a regular old nap, while Bow picked up his duty of hydrating the princess and getting her comfortable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I had the same dream, but I tried to freeze the chains and they wouldn’t break. It felt like I was trapped there for days.” Frosta looked at the princesses that were still unconscious next to her. “Wh-what happened to us?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The room fell silent. Everyone looked at each other, hoping the other would have an answer, but each face was blank. Adora found herself staring at the door Double Trouble had dashed through just a few minutes prior. She didn’t have the energy to question their presence but she knew it wasn’t for a good reason. Letting her head fall back on to the metal wall she was propped on with a dull thud, all eyes fell on her. Even though she was entirely drained of energy, she tried to turn her head to look at the whole group, but she was only able to make eye contact with Catra. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What did you do?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Somewhere in the woods… </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Double Trouble’s pounding feet eventually led them to the site of their old home, still pitched in the middle of a wooded clearing. They dropped to their knees in front of the tent and only then really realized where they had ended up. It was a shock to them how the tent managed to look exactly how it had the last time they saw it, despite that being a few months before. They gently reached out a hand to drag across the canvas and wondered how many storms the tent had weathered on its own. As they felt the fabric beneath their hands, their mind felt more free and clear than it had in a long time, it was calming even if they knew it was fleeting. They began to wonder if they ever should have left their home to begin with. They gently reached and unzipped the entrance to the tent and crawled in, zipping the flap back up and blocking out any outside disturbances. Sat in the center, they hugged their knees tight to their chest as they glanced around at the few things they left behind, mainly to weigh down the tent in case of a strong wind. In the corner, near the entrance, was a large chest. A chest that they more so left behind for the negative memories attached to it than for weighing down the tent, even though it did do the job just as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You know whose they were…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cautiously, Double Trouble leaned forward and crawled toward the chest, sitting back on their legs when they reached it with their tail sweeping back and forth, anxiously, behind them. They gently placed their hands on the latch of the box and took a deep breath in before releasing it, the lid popping open before them. Items that had remained untouched for years sat inside the chest, Double Trouble stared into the pile, their sense of calm from before petering out as they knew it eventually would. They let out the breath they forgot they had been holding and reached into the chest, pushing around the items on top, looking for the thing they knew was buried deep in the bottom, the thing they had never intended to pull out of the chest again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When their hands returned, they were holding an old and worn picture frame that held a photo of a very young Double Trouble, standing between a man and what looked like a woman, but the face had been burned out with a flame long ago. The two adults had a hand on either shoulder of the very solemn looking child version of Double Trouble, the man was straight faced and the women seemed to be leaning slightly away from him and more into Double Trouble, with her hand draped down over their shoulder as opposed to the father who seemed to be gripping it firmly. They remember when this photo was taken, but more painfully, they remember the day their father burned their mother’s face out of it. The sound of furniture being tossed around the den, shattering on impact with the walls, the screams and shouts from their mother, it all played out in Double Trouble’s mind as they held the photo in trembling hands. The memory of their father holding the photo to a candlestick and watching the pigments melt off flashed in their vision. They shook themself out of it as best they could and fixed their gaze back on the photo, trying to focus their hazing vision as best as they could. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sure enough, there was the pinstriped suit from their dream staring back at them. The same pinstriped suit the man in the photos had been wearing. They’re heartbeat began to quicken again and they barely registered the sound of the frame clattering to the floor below them. They sat back and hugged their legs to their chest again, burying their face into their knees. They knew no one was around to see them, but regardless, they weren’t going to let their brimming tears fall over. Their mind was in a tizzy, they were beyond confused, they weren’t sure why Catra had pictures of their father or what he was doing or why it was connected to all the princesses being laid out on the floor of the war room, but it all made them sick to their stomach. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In a snap judgement, all anxiety momentarily falling to the back of their mind, Double Trouble rose to their feet. They grabbed the chest, unzipped their tent, and chucked the useless box out into the woods. They found a bag somewhere in the remains of their tent and began shoving the few items they had left behind into it, including some spare clothes, journals, and other personal effects they may need along the way. They had no clue what the hell was going on but they knew that their father, as demented of a man as he was, was at the bottom of it and they had to be the one to take him down. To prove to Catra that they’re her friend, to prove to all of them that they </span>
  <em>
    <span>just want to be their friend. </span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Why even try? You’ve fooled them too many times, you think you’re any deserving of friendship? </span>
  </em>
  <span>The voice gave Double Trouble pause but they tried to push through, moving on to dismantling their tent. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You just lie and lie and lie, everything you do is an act. Even </span>
  </em>
  <span>this</span>
  <em>
    <span> is just an act. You just want to pretend to be the hero. You’re not the hero, DT, you never will be. Just quit faking it and face the music, you will always be the bad guy to them. It’s what you deserve, it your own bed you’ve made, now—</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“</span>
  </em>
  <span>STOP!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the distance, the flapping wings of scattering birds could be heard. Double Trouble didn’t realize it but they had fallen to their knees in the dirt where their tent used to stand. They clutched the now loose canvas to their chest, hyperventilating over it, one hand lost its grip and dropped to the ground, the rest of their body following. Now curled up into a ball in the cold dirt, they were openly sobbing, holding part of the tent one of their hands managed to remain holding on to and pressing it to their forehead. They stayed like that for what felt like hours to them but in reality, had only been about ten minutes. By the time they were able to settle down, rustling sounded, not far from the clearing they had holed themself up in. They wanted to react but they couldn’t find the energy or the will to untangle themself from the tent. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know those tracking pads Bow gave us have a—“ a familiar voice began speaking as the footsteps grew closer but stopped abruptly, footsteps turned to the sound of running. “What the hell happened, are you okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Furry palms gripped Double Trouble by their exposed upper arm and turned them on their back. They squeezed their eyes tight as their face shifted out of the canvas and was met by the bright, midday sun shining down on the clearing, they held them tight until black splotches appeared in their vision. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I need you to get up, I can’t deal with two people giving out on me in one day.” Catra gently shook Double Trouble but they just managed to squeeze their eyes even tighter. She sighed and ran her hands through her hair. “Fuck- ugh- fine! Okay, fine, I know, I’m sorry. I was… </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong. </span>
  </em>
  <span>And I’m sorry.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Double Trouble opened their eyes, staring blankly up at Catra, who they had just realized was cradling their head in her lap. The hollow feeling in their chest kept them in their spot but they tilted their head up at her, “What?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you seriously going to make me say that again? Do you even know how hard it was the first time?” Catra smiled sheepishly, adjusting her positions with Double Trouble’s head on her lap so she was able to stretch her legs out. She let out another sigh and began explaining to Double Trouble the dizzy spells the princesses had been experiencing, and how she thinks they should really come up with a better term for it than “dizzy spells” because that just sounds stupid. She told them about the drones Bow had sent out to catch any activity and about how Glimmer suspected them because of the eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry…” Catra sounded so resigned to them but Double Trouble waited for her to continue. “When Adora went down, I panicked, I was in a frenzy, I was… I was scared. I was scared and I didn’t know what else to do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t blame you.” Double Trouble smiled weakly and finally pushed themself to sit up, hugging their legs to their chest once again and resting their chin on their knees.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well are you going to tell me what the hell you're doing out here anyway?” Catra swung her arm out as if to present the clearing to Double Trouble. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh…” They looked around at the chest of scattered items thrown off to the side of the clearing and back at their twisted up tent that had just a touch of snot smeared onto it, then to their bag laying not too far away. They reached for it, rifling through it until their hand landed on the picture frame they had almost tossed out with the rest of the chest. They examined it before handing it over to Catra to look at. “There’s something I need to tell you. All of you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Double Trouble glanced at each individual person crowding around them in their living room, staring them down, waiting for answers. Glimmer and Adora sunk deep into the couch, accepting the warm mugs of tea Bow was passing around to everyone. Catra sat in the armchair across from Double Trouble, elbow propped on the arm rest, her fist supporting her head. Her long nails clanked along the side of the mug as she looked to the shapeshifter, then to the two girls sinking further and further into the couch with exhaustion. When Bow came around to pass Double Trouble a mug, they gave a small smile up at him and clutched the hot vessel to their chest, inhaling deeply before looking over the other  inhabitants of the living room one more time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A folder lay in the center of the coffee table, they all knew the contents that lay within. The pictures that have been shoved in everyone’s face at least once that day. Double Trouble hesitantly reached for the folder and held it in their hands, inspecting the yellow cover carefully as they traced their palm over it, picking at the edges of the folder lightly, afraid to once again face the photos they knew were inside. They were aware of all the sets of eyes piercing into them, waiting for the explanation they gathered them all around for. Glancing up at the gang of expectant faces one more time, they exhaled deeply before diving right in. They ripped the photo they needed out of the folder and placed it down in the center of the coffee table with a slap. Nearly ready to speak, their eyes falling on the photo shut them back up for a moment. Waves of all different emotions surged through them, threatening to tear their soul from their body, prickling against their insides. Their mind jumped here and there, so rapidly it was like they could feel it trying to escape, trying to pull them from this situation. They looked down at the mug they were clutching so tightly and would’ve yelped if their mind would have let them, they would have lost it more than they already were when they saw their hands gripping the mug start to camouflage and become nearly transparent against the ceramic. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A hand, gently clasping their shoulder, pulled them out of their own head for a moment. They looked above them to see a warm Bow looking down with a meek smile. He lightly squeezed their shoulder again, they took in a deep breath, gave one more glance around the room, and let it out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is my dad.” They were the only words they could manage to push out at the moment. They looked to Adora and Glimmer to see that their tired eyes had suddenly  grown wide, almost bulging out of their heads at the revelation. Taking a deep breath, they continued. “I can’t tell you what he’s up to but I can tell you that’s for sure him, he used to have a dozen suits just like this one, he used to claim they made him seem taller, there’s no mistaking it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cup of tea in Double Trouble’s hands threatened to shatter as their nerves grew with the continuing silence among the room. Out of the corner of their eye, the tip of Catra’s tail swaying back and forth caught their attention. They looked to her, her own brow furrowed as she looked down at the photo on the table and back up to her roommate. When she realized Double Trouble had their gaze locked on her, she cocked her head to the side and gave them a small smile and a nod, urging them to go on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“In the Kingdom of Green Glade, we don’t have kings and queens, we have something more like high class, noble families who are elected to run the kingdom. The pool of families who are eligible to run is small, but for as long as I lived with him, my dad has always won. Maybe something is threatening that this go around and that’s why he needs to drain your powers. I don’t know anything else, that’s just my best guess.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Double Trouble chewed at the inside of their cheek. They tried to examine their reflection in their tea but the wisps of smoke disrupted their view and all they could see was an ominous outline of their face in the liquid. They felt like an idiot and more than that they felt useless, just as much as always. When they recognized their father in the photos and had time to process it, they thought they could actually be a help to the Princesses but they don’t have anything other than knowing who the culprit is. It had been years since they last saw their father, how could they possibly have thought they would be useful. They looked down at their knees just to have their attention caught by their bag of belongings they hastily threw together from their tent. The group watched as they rifled through the bag to retrieve the burnt photo and put it on the table next to the blurred image their drone had caught. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He lost most of his ability to shape shift when I was young so he shouldn’t be too difficult to locate, he should still look just like this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He… lost the ability?” Catra now leaned towards Double Trouble with her elbows rested on her knees and hands clasped out in front of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mostly. Our ability is like…” they pondered for the right word. “It’s like a muscle, you need to keep working it if you want to make use of its full potential. He’s an old man now, he’s probably reduced to just party tricks by this point.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How do you know he hasn’t been working his muscle?” Adora muffled through a blanket as she sunk deeper into the corner of the couch. Glimmer seemed to have fallen asleep, buried into Adora’s side. She made an attempt to turn her attention to the shapeshifter but her muscles were too weak to allow her to move a single inch with the weight of the other princess on her. Instead, she just put all her energy into making her vocal chords work properly. “Do you think he could be using our powers to regenerate his own?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s a possibility. I don’t know how it would work but yeah, maybe.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you let me get some samples from you, maybe I can figure it out.” Bow exclaimed, holding his finger up in an </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ahah! </span>
  </em>
  <span>gesture. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Double Trouble cocked an eyebrow at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well if I can figure out how the Princesses’ powers can modify </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>ability, if they even can, then maybe I can find out a way of blocking it from doing just that.” Bow prodded his chin as his brow furrowed in deep thought. “And if I can’t get their powers to effect your own abilities, then we know that’s not what his plan is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow came around to the coffee table and grabbed the folder full of photos, pulling one particular one out and sitting down on the couch nearest Double Trouble. He leaned over the armrest and placed one of the photos in their lap and pointed to a few blurry objects sitting in front of a glowing crystal. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you recognize these things?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Double Trouble carefully picked up the photo and squinted at the small trinkets surrounding the crystal in the photo. They tried to make out what the blurred little figures on the ground could be, but nothing about them stuck out. They shook their head no and passed the photo back to Bow, who just clicked his tongue at it and placed it back in the folder with the rest. The living room grew silent as eyes shifted to meet each other, each one in the room waiting for the next to say something else that could be helpful. Double Trouble tried to keep their mind blank while waiting for someone to speak up but the voice in their head was threatening to send them into a tailspin. It was Catra who eventually broke the silence- just in time by Double Trouble’s standards- by clapping her hands together and standing from her spot lounging on the couch. She placed her half downed mug of tea on the coffee table and clapped her hands together one more time, giving them a little rub before speaking up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s getting late, and I need to get this one,” She pointed down to an Adora who had her head slung over the back of the couch with drool threatening to dribble down her face. “In a horizontal position before she starts getting needy.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora tried to protest that statement but Catra just crouched down a bit and took one of her arms, slinging it over her shoulder, and helped her to a standing position. She nodded to the group and guided the limp body of her girlfriend out of the living room, disappearing down a hallway before returning a few minutes later, sans Adora. Double Trouble watched as Bow began a similar process of helping Glimmer up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you’d like, can you come with me to the war room tomorrow morning so we can get some samples from you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They gave Bow a tight smile and a nod before he walked off with his roommate. Catra got the door for them, she waved the duo off as she closed it behind them and sank into it, letting out a heavy sigh as she let the slab of wood support her body. Double Trouble turned in their seat to watch their friend, mug of tea still clasped between their hands, they hadn’t noticed how it had begun to tremble until hot liquid splashed out onto them. They placed the mug down at the realization of their slight injury. When they brought their attention back to Catra, she was already halfway across the room, throwing herself down into the middle of the couch and rubbing her temples in a circular motion, eyes squeezed tight. They sat in silence like that until Catra dropped her hands into her lap and let her gaze fall on the picture frame laying flat on the coffee table in front of her. She scrunched her nose at it and leaned forward, picking the frame up and inspecting it. Double Trouble opened their mouth to say something but Catra was faster. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What even happened here?” She took the photo away from her face and poked at the hole that was burnt into it, lightly picking at the charred edges. She held the photo up and turned it to Double Trouble, as if they had never seen the thing before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They sighed, crossed their legs and leaned forward, taking the frame from Catra’s hands. They ran a hand around the burned woman’s figure, beginning to chew on the inside of their cheek again. Propping up the stand for the frame, they placed the photo down in front of themself and took it in. Before that day, it had been forever since they had spent this much time inspecting the singed photo, the photo that brings a dull ache to their heart every time it gets pulled out. They inhaled deeply and closed their eyes. The sounds of glass shattering and various other objects being thrown around their home from that day, the yelling and screaming, their mother’s pleas for mercy, it all played in the back of their head in the half a second they had their eyes shut. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My father wasn’t the best guy,” they started “He was all about appearances and if me or my mother ever did anything that made him look bad, there were… consequences, you could say. And the threshold for what he considered ‘defaming’ was very low. If we even looked at someone who had higher standing than us the wrong way, we would have to pay for it when we were in the privacy of our own home.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra scooted to the end of the couch closer to Double Trouble as they told their story, giving them her full attention. The way they slightly flinched away from her as she moved didn’t go unnoticed by Catra. She didn’t have the most experience with being compassionate, but she tried to display as best she could with her body language that she was there, not meant to cause any harm, just to be a friend and listen to them. Double Trouble let out another shaky breath and picked their now cold cup of tea back up. Catra had come to notice that they do that quite frequently, that they try to keep something in their hands when they seem to be stressed. Their green knuckles turned white with how tight they were holding the cup, but they continued. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know exactly what happened. There was some high society party that we had to go to one night. I usually got shoved into a room with the other kids at these things, so I wasn’t there for… for whatever it was.” They scrunched their eyes tight again, Catra thought maybe they were trying to hold back tears. It was odd to her, she had never seen Double Trouble this vulnerable before, she didn’t even know they were capable of being vulnerable, to her, they were the most confident, ballsy person she knew, not this emotional wreck before her. “But when we got home from the party that night, my mom sent me to my room right away. There was yelling, stuff getting thrown around… I think I heard him hit her… a few times… that’s when I went down to see what was happening…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They trailed off, Catra unknowingly leaned forward, waiting for the rest of the story. They sat in silence for what felt like forever as Double Trouble stared into their tea, their shoulders, hardly noticeable, began to tremble and Catra was unsure if it would be wise to reach out and try and console them. She held her hand feebly in the air, considering her next move before deciding to just go for it. She placed her hand on her roommates arm, brushing her thumb over the slightly rough skin, hoping it could put them at ease even if just a little. The action made Double Trouble flinch at first but they leaned into the touch and took another deep breath in before exhaling and delving further. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The last time I saw my mom was that night, all bloodied. They didn’t know I was watching, but I think I missed the worst of it. By the time I got downstairs, she was on the ground, I… I thought he killed her. I think he thought he did too. He just—“ Double Trouble broke down, the mug fell out of their hands, shattering on the floor at their feet, splashing the cold liquid up onto their shins but it went unnoticed by them. Their hands darted to cover their face and their entire body began to tremble violently. This situation took Catra aback but she still tried to comfort her friend, she shifted from where she was on the couch to the armrest of Double Troubles chair and began rubbing their back in circular motions with one hand while the other gently held onto one of their shoulders. They flinched again at the touch but after their initial shock of it, they seemed to be able to collect themself, even if just a bit, and leaned back into Catra. They were able to calm themself just enough to be able to continue. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She was on the ground, not moving and he just… </span>
  <em>
    <span>stared at her</span>
  </em>
  <span>… and he just left her there. I was hiding under the stairs, I didn’t know what to do. I could hear him pouring drinks in the other room while she just sat there on the ground. I couldn’t move, I don’t know how long I was stuck there, but… eventually </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> started moving. I guess, I don’t know, I guess she figured that was going to be her only chance to get away and she took it. I watched her drag herself out the front door and I… I never saw her again. I don’t even know if she really made it out alive.” Double Trouble picked the photo up again and leaned deeper into Catra’s side, now graciously accepting the comfort they so rarely received. They ran their fingertips over the burnt out face of their mother before placing the frame down on their lap. “My father drank for days after that. He just sat at the table with his sidecar, staring at this picture. By the time he burned her face out of this one, every other family portrait with her in it had already been sent up in flames entirely. Like he just wanted to… erase her completely from memory, like she never even existed… this picture is the only one that is left of her.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was clear to Catra that Double Trouble had ended their story. She wasn’t sure what to say to them, if there was anything she even could say to make them feel better, but she stayed there, holding her friend as their body trembled with light sobbing in her arms. Catra glanced down at the photo in Double Trouble’s lap. She glared at the man in the photo standing over their younger self, gripping their shoulder with what seemed like a vice grip, staring grimly into the camera. In that moment, she vowed to herself that when they found this man, this monster, and God be damned they would, she would make him pay for what he’s done to her girlfriend, her allies, and most of all, what he has done to her best friend. Catra was bent on being the one to make him wish he had never been born. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Double Trouble lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, watching their fan spin and spin and spin in a constant blur. Their arms splayed out to their sides as they absentmindedly scratched their palms, not noticing how sweaty they had gotten while sitting motionless. The frame holding their burned memories had long since fallen to the ground next to their bed, the faces in the wood staring absentmindedly up to the ceiling just as Double Trouble had been. Each time they tried to allow their eyes to relax for just a moment, memories from their time with their father would spring into action like a movie reel projecting onto the back of their eyelids. They let it happen over and over until a more pleasant memory came to them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Where have they gone off to?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Put the estate on full lockdown!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Go! Go! Go! Search the whole area!” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The chaos they had caused brought a smile to a young Double Trouble’s face. Never being allowed to use their abilities without supervision, they had never known the true amount of insanity they could stir up all by themself. The way they had the guards’ heads spinning was almost reason enough to make them stay, to not run away from their life and leave nobility behind, but they knew there was greater shit to stir elsewhere. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>They weren’t entirely used to their new height disguised as a guard, banging their head on a few lighting fixtures while trying to blend in with the rest of the fleet searching for, well, themself. Just waiting for the perfect time to escape from the rest undetected, Double Trouble stayed to the back of the group and tried to keep attention off of themself while they kept a keen eye out for opportunities to flee. Wet grass brushed across their leather boots, leaving behind droplets of dew that enraptured the shapeshifter. They rarely ever had the chance to get so far away from their families main house. While no one had their eyes on them, they took a moment to straighten up and turn to look at the mansion on the far opposite side of the estate. They were close to the tree line of the woods and the mansion seemed like a Monopoly piece from that distance. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>For a moment they felt guilty knowing they would be tarnishing the reputation of the guard whose identity they had assumed whenever the search party came to realize they had taken off, but they knew there was no room for guilt where they were planning on going and quickly swallowed it. The rumors of The Crimson Waste were just distant whispers in The Kingdom of Green Glade, but Double Trouble was certainly taught about them by their father. The man always regarded the folks of The Waste with great disdain, seeing them only as scoundrels, criminals bent to wreak havoc on civilized communities. To him, he probably sounded like he was telling a cautionary tale to his child to keep them away from their dark way, but little did he know he was only pushing them right into their hands. The life was enticing to Double Trouble, compared to their cruel and stuffy noble life, The Crimson Waste sounded like sanctuary to them and it was one of the only places they thought their father could have banished their mother to. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The moment they were able to make a clean break away, they took it. The rest of the guards had dispersed through the woods to cover more ground in their search, leaving Double Trouble conveniently close to where they had planted their escape pack weeks prior. Yes, Double Trouble had been planning their great escape since the day they found that their mother had disappeared, they knew they would have never been able to live alone under the same roof as their cruel dictator of a father. Soon, equipped with a small tent, a few sets of clothes, and various other supplies to last them until they were able to get settled somewhere, Double Trouble was staring out into the great openness before them. At fifteen, they now had all the freedom in the world, they just had to take one step forward… and escape. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>…</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Without realization, Double Trouble soon lulled themself to sleep. The hours slipped by and they were eventually awoken by Catra throwing their bedroom door open. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wake up, greenie, it’s been too high strung lately, we’re doing something fun today.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Double Trouble groaned, covering their face with one of their many oversized pillows but it was quickly ripped away, exposing them to a shocking amount of light. They tried to block it out with their arms but it was no use. A weight thumped down beside them, causing their body to sink to one side of the bed, sending their face into Catra’s side. Double Trouble finally conceded, uncovering their face and meeting eyes with their roommate. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What did you have in mind, kitten?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Coffee?” Catra responded, bounding off the bed to rummage through Double Trouble’s closet, seeming to be choosing their outfit for the day. She launched the selection of clothes at them with a strained smile on her face, bordering on the side of a grimace. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Double Trouble examined the clothes around them and picked out what they liked from the pile before finally crawling out of bed. They eyed the array of cosmetics on their vanity, deciding for a change that they didn’t feel like dealing with their entire beauty routine and opting just to moisturize for the day. As they began to rub cream after cream into their scaly face, Catra’s tired visage appeared behind them in their mirror. It was then that they realized how exhausted she seemed to be that morning. They put down their last tube of moisturizer and turned around to face their roommate, concern plastered across their face. Before they had a chance to even open their mouth, Catra held a hand up to hush Double Trouble. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll tell you all about it… as soon as I get some coffee in me.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>At a coffee shop nearby… </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So Bow thinks my family portrait will help find him faster?” Double Trouble held their mug close to their chest, analyzing the pieces before them, carefully calculating their next move. Their fingers brushed the top of one of their final pawns before locking in the decision and capturing Catra’s rook. Their opponent made a hissing sound at the board and a glance up told them that she was seconds away from flipping the board before she composed herself, readying a counter attack. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, something about facial recognition, blah blah blah…” Catra rubbed her chin, analyzing the board carefully, taking in every piece and its position, Double Trouble was a master of decoying, a fact that wasn’t unknown to Catra. She carefully selected her next piece to move. “He spent most of the morning boring into my ears over it, so I don’t really feel like parroting it all back, but that’s the gist.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If that’s all then why do you seem so stressed, kitten?” Double Trouble took a gentle sip from their mug, watching as Catra eyed the liquid in her own. “Check mate.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Catra’s eyes darted to the board where Double Trouble had already knocked down her king. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Play it back, where did I mess up?” With a click of their teeth, Double Trouble obeyed and began moving pieces back to their original places. Catra’s eyes flickered to each piece they readjusted, setting it all the way back to a position from one of their early moves. When they were done, her opponent folded their hands into their lap and glanced across the board. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re opening was weak, you moved too many pawns to begin with and…” Double Trouble paused to forward through a few of their plays. The way they sat, explaining move by move to Catra where she went wrong, it reminded them of their childhood with their dad. They shook the thought before continuing, before it had the chance to derail them. “You waited way too long to put your rooks into play.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Catra carefully looked over the board as she hunched forward, looking like the old, calculating, cruel war master she once was. She eventually relented, sitting back in her seat with a huff. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m just stressed for you,” Catra began, cupping her mug between her hands and leaning forward to rest her elbows on the table. Double Trouble raised an eyebrow at her but let her continue. “Will you be okay if we have to confront your dad?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A familiar glitching sensation rose in Double Trouble’s chest at the sudden thought of coming face to face with their dad again. Their face had gone stone cold, giving Catra pause for a moment, worried she had broken her friend but Double Trouble had gotten better about suppressing their anxiety since they first moved in with Adora and Catra. They took a deep breath in and let it out, setting their mug down on the exhale. They pondered the question for a moment, if only for show, before responding. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think I’ll be fine.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>A lie. “</span>
  </em>
  <span>He probably won’t even recognize me the way I am now. Hah! I used to be such a small fry when I lived on the estate. And I’m way hotter now.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Good recover. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Double Trouble leaned back in their chair, throwing their arm over the backrest and crossing their legs. Their tail brushed across the floor below them before curling up at the tip. For a moment, to Catra, they looked cold and fierce, but a sly smile broke out on their face. They huffed and leaned forward again, mirroring Catra’s position. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m lying to you.” Catra’s ears perked up at that while Double Trouble looked shocked they had said anything at all. “Uh, I just… I think it’s going to churn up a lot of old stuff that I’m not ready to deal with, like…” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Catra leaned closer into the center of the table, waiting for them to continue, but the words seemed to be toiling around in their head, trying to find the right way out. If she held her breath she would have surely passed out by the time Double Trouble went on. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“When I ran away from the estate, I made a promise to myself to… I don’t know, to find my mom I guess? I guess I just wanted to reverse </span>
  <em>
    <span>some </span>
  </em>
  <span>damage that my father caused and I could never do it. I always fell short or a lead always ran cold.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So you’re afraid to face him as a failure?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I—“ Double Trouble held a hand up in defense but let it fall flat. They fell back into their chair with a sigh. “Well I wouldn’t have put it like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but… I guess so.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm.” Catra picked up her mug and gently swirled the liquid inside around the sides. She took a long sip and set the mug back down, revealing she had downed the rest of its contents. She began resetting the board, wordlessly challenging their opponent to a rematch. “Well, I think maybe confronting him will get you closer than you think to reversing some of that damage.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Double Trouble grinned at their roommate’s burst of optimism. When Catra was done resetting the pieces, they flipped the board around, giving her the white side to make the opening move. They played in silence like such for the rest of the morning, only speaking up to request more coffee. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Bow sat, glassy-eyed, staring at the large monitor in front of him. Countless still images of faces flashed, one after the other on the screen at a rapid pace, overlaying the family photo Double Trouble had provided. He had been doing this for weeks without any progress and it all began to hit him how absolutely pointless the process was. Double Trouble was from a family of shapeshifters, of course it would be near impossible to track their father this way, but it was the only way they had until he could figure something else out. Whenever he and Entrapta seem to get close to tracking down where the waves originate from, they seem to completely re-route, as if something had been jamming the signal to their trackerpads. And to make everything all that much worse, the only way they can manage to track the waves is when the princesses are being targeted. It hurt Bow to watch his friends be in pain and not be able to do anything but watch, try to pin down signals, and be ready to care for them when they come next wave hits. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was, however, minor progress to the situation. Bow and Entrapta were now able to fairly accurately predict when the princesses were about to be attacked by analyzing wave patterns around them before, during, and for a short time after the attacks. As Bow thought on the small success, he checked the wave readings on his trackerpad, ensuring that they read normal as they had ten minutes earlier. Glimmer, who was resting on the couch not far away, shifted in her sleep, drawing Bow’s attention to her. It certainly benefited him and his wave analysis having one of the elemental princesses as a roommate, with another one as their neighbor. Of course, if he never knew them to begin with, these attacks wouldn’t be such a major stressor in his life. Maybe in a different reality, he would be stressing over school or work right now, worrying more over his exams, hours, and girls than whether or not his friends will survive their next weird psychic attack. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The thought made him pause for a moment as he glanced over his friend's sleeping form. Glancing back at his monitor one more time, he stood and crossed the room to Glimmer. The immediate guilt of thinking like a bad friend weighed him down, leaving a feeling as if he was thudding across the room with each step he took. He grabbed the blanket from the backrest of the couch and gently placed it on top of Glimmer, careful not to disturb her, and realized that, in a different reality, his life could never have been as fulfilling as this one. Him and his friends have fought through a lot together and they would fight through this too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They did have the benefit of not having to deal with an attack for almost a week, giving them time to gather as much drone footage as they could to compare to Double Trouble’s photo. Even if it had completely defeated Bow, it was something. With that, he resumed monitoring his facial recognition for even the slightest match, but he wasn’t going to let his hopes get too high for the rest of the day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>At the apartment…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There has to be something more we could be doing right now.” Catra threw her phone down on the coffee table in front of her and kicked her feet up onto it, huffing as she sank deep back into the couch. Double Trouble folded their newspaper over to glance at her, Adora locked her own phone and set it down on her lap. They gave each other a pointed glance before fixing their attention to Catra. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The best thing to do right now is be patient, darling.” Double Trouble said as they crossed their legs and leaned in towards Catra. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As much as I hate it, they are right,” Adora added. “I’m sure Bow and Entrapta are closer than they’re letting on.”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I just don’t understand!” Catra threw her arms out in defeat. “When I was being the bad guy, you guys were on my ass the very next moment! And this guy? He just  gets to leech you guys whenever he feels like it? What’s the deal here? If you let me do that, I’d be ruling Etheria right now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, no offense Kitten, but you were never that good at covering your tracks, my father is a known master of deception after all.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now you just sound like you’re bragging.” Adora glared across the coffee table at Double Trouble. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They sat back in their chair, choosing not to say any more. The sound of Adora trying to reason with Catra faded to the background as they pretended to read their newspaper again. They stared blankly at the words in front of them, turning the page every now and again and then going back to staring at them. They began to feel detached from themself as a dark grey cloud sprouted from within them, making their vision haze in and out of focus. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>
    <em>“Stay behind me and don’t make a sound, I don’t want any of your attention seeking at this event, do you hear me?” Barrington glared down at his child’s new reflection in the mirror as he fixed his own bow tie. Double Trouble silently nodded up at their father, now an entirely new man they didn’t recognize. They glanced at their own reflection to see their new image, a look their father had helped them with. </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>He wasn’t happy with them. The pain of shapeshifting was still too much for Double Trouble’s young body. They had tried for hours to morph into the man their father showed them in the photo, but after too many failed attempts, they eventually passed out from the pain. When their father found them, he was fuming. </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>“You’re an embarrassment to the Trouble name, get yourself off the floor, mongrel!”</em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>After trying and failing to get his child to shapeshift successfully, he settled to change their disguise for the night to suit his kid’s incompetence. Disguised as an average Bright Moon father and son, Barrington and Double Trouble took to their carriage, two steeds guiding them through the woods to Double Trouble’s first mission. </em>
  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before the thoughts had a chance to seep in any further, Double Trouble shot out of their chair, silencing their roommates as they watched them swiftly exit the apartment without saying a single word. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they nearly sprinted down the stairwell, they shifted into one of the many random civilians they had stored away in their memory for times such as this. Their bones shifted within them, sending a burning sensation through their body as it shrunk to a smaller stature. Their light blonde hair formed itself into a darker, high ponytail and their clothes changed to green tights. By the time their transformation was complete, they were at the bottom of the stairs and taking their exit through a side door leading to the alley. By the time they were exiting the building, they could hear sets of footsteps pounding down after them, certainly belonging to Catra and Adora. It didn’t matter though, they were confident in their disguise fooling them, they weren’t necessarily the brightest of the Bright Moon. They trekked down the alleyway and exited onto a bustling street, easily concealing themself in the dense crowd. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they got a good distance away from their apartment building, they checked their surroundings to be sure they hadn’t been followed. Even though they knew they were clear, they were sure of it, the sense of having eyes on them wouldn’t shake. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>The Queen wasn’t far away, even though the many, taller partygoers obscured their vision a good deal, Double Trouble had eyes on her and her much shorter husband socializing with some very important looking people. A hand firmly grasped them by their shoulder, making them jump. They spun around to see their father in the unfamiliar man’s face looking down at them. He pulled them away from the center of the room and towards the walls, reprimanding them for getting lost in the crowd. </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>“But I had Queen Angella in my sights, isn’t that what you wanted Papa?”</em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>“I wanted you to blend into the crowd, not stick out like a sore thumb and gawk at that false idol.” Their father’s grasp grew stronger. “I’ve done most of the work already, the Princess Alliance is spread thin enough as it is. You just wait here and stay out of my way, I’ll retrieve you when the job is done.”</em>
  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their phone rang in their pocket, sending a flurry of nerves rushing through their body. They paused, took a deep breath in to collect themself and pulled their phone out, an unflattering image of Catra flashed across the screen, indicating her incoming call. Double Trouble silenced the call and turned their phone, slipping it back into their pocket. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The crowd around them had thinned out considerably and soon after, Double Trouble found themself all on their own, staring down the mouth of dense woodland. They knew the way home from Bright Moon was an hour by carriage, but all they had right now were their own two feet, and they got to walking.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>At headquarters…</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow had long since fallen asleep at the monitor, a small stream of drool leaked from the corner of his mouth. Glimmer had woken up not long before, deciding to let Bow rest and watch the screen for him, but even her eyes began to droop shut again as the time passed. She had nearly fallen back to sleep, sitting upright in her seat, when an alarm began to sound from the monitor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“H-huh? What? Attack? Attack!” Bow jolted awake, almost falling out of his chair. Glimmer caught him, steadying him back into his seat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Definitely not an attack,” Glimmer said. “Look.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glimmer guided Bow’s attention to the monitor, showing the facial recognition program had finally come to a stop on an image. Countless hours of manning the monitor, countless drones sent out to survey, it all came down to footage coming out of a kingdom not far from Bright Moon. Bow pulled up the footage the program flagged and pressed play. A slender, feminine figure dressed in a dark cloak appeared on the screen, walking briskly away from the direction of the drone. As the figure paced forward, they turned their head just enough to catch a glimpse of their profile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not... that isn’t—“ Glimmer searched but she couldn’t find the words. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is so confusing.” Bow threw his head in his hands and slowly sank back into his seat. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
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